Everyone's entitled to a bad day, even the G.O.A.T.

This weekend, I spent a good amount of time watching the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Gymnastics, especially the women. Specifically, Sunday night, I watched the woman who is broadly considered to be the greatest female gymnast of all time, Simone Biles, and I watched her STRUGGLE. She lost her balance on the uneven bars and got a deduction, on her vault she couldn’t stick her landing to save her life, and on the balance beam she even fell off. Listening to the announcers, you could hear how in shock they were, that she was having such a rough time, but in the same breath that they discussed how bad her night was going, they talked about all of the amazing things she has done. It reminded me of what we talk about in class about testings and tournaments, they’re just one day. If Simone Biles, the best gymnast in the world, can have a bad day, why can’t I? Why can’t you? Why can’t your child?
 
Sometimes things don’t go our way, no matter how hard we prepare. Before the Olympic trials on Sunday I listened to an interview where Biles said she trains for 32-34 hours a week, just to compete for 3 or 4 minutes. If she can put in that much work, and still have an off day, it’s easy to see how we can as well. What I didn’t see from Biles on Sunday night, was quit. She was very clearly frustrated with herself. She was clearly upset her night was going this way. But she went into each event with her head held high, like nothing had happened. As tennis great Maria Sharapova said, “It’s always tough when you lose – you’ve worked so hard for that moment and it hasn’t gone the way you wanted. But you have to realize there’s always a bright side, you have to pick yourself up and get ready for the next game.” Maybe you struggled at the last tournament (our first in-person tournament in over a year) or maybe you got a no change at testing. Is that what you’re going to let define you? Parents, is that what you’re going to let define your child? Sometimes, we need a little boost to get back on the horse, because we don’t always see what we are capable of after a struggle.